Reutemann Las Vegas 1981

Yoong Montoya · 18 Mar 2003, 21:53 (Ref:540590)

What the hell happened to him in that race? He qualified on pole, but plummeted down the order in the race for no apparent reason, losing the WDC to Nelson Piquet. Anyone know what the reason was?

Vitesse · 18 Mar 2003, 22:42 (Ref:540675)

Gearbox problem. He lost fourth gear late on, but had had selection problems earlier in the race.

racer69 · 19 Mar 2003, 12:49 (Ref:541113)

The problem's didn't help, but i don't think the mood he was in that day helped.

Neither to an extent did Williams. They were in the process of trying to persuade Alan Jones to not retire, so they brought a spare car over each for both drivers (2 cars each), and gave both equal status. Plus the fact Jonesy had never forgiven Carlos for Brazil, and he wanted to win his final GP (for the time), he wasn't going to help Carlos in any way. Having said that i'm not too sure he really liked the thought of Piquet winning, they didn't like eachother either. Ahhh rivalries, don't we wish we had some proper one's today.

gfm · 19 Mar 2003, 15:33 (Ref:541232)

You mean it's not a 'proper rivalry' at Williams today racer69? Or BAR? Renault? Ferrari?

krt917 · 20 Mar 2003, 09:29 (Ref:541935)

I think Reutemann was a bit of an enigma. When he was 'in the mood', he was sublime, but when he wasn't he tended to be less than average.

The March 2003 issue of MotorSport had a piece on his '81 campaign. An example of his strange character came after the British GP, where he finished second and held a 17 point lead in the championship. Apparently, for no apparent reason, he got out of the car and said 'That's it, I won't score any more points this year'. Very odd attitude.

At Las Vegas he MAY have had gearbox trouble - air in the cluth-line for example - but Williams didn't find anything wrong after the race, according to Patrick Head in MotorSport. Apparently, he had Reutemann had been told by an advisor that Nelson was injured and might not be able to finish. As a result, Carlos didn't push that hard and when Piquet came passed him it was a bit of a blow to his self-confidence (which was pretty fragile). Noone can really explain why he couldn't get back at Nelson when he slowed at the end.

The race seem to illustrate Carlos' weaknesses when it should have brought out his strengths.

paulzinho · 20 Mar 2003, 11:17 (Ref:542009)

When did Reuterman finally retire?

Sounds as though he couldn't go on much longer after 81 given what he said after the British GP and the race in vegas.

BootsOntheSide · 20 Mar 2003, 11:47 (Ref:542019)

He only did two more races, the two South American ones at the start of 1982.

This is defiantely motor racing's equivalent of Ronaldo's loss of form in the 1998 Football World Cup. It may be that the car had a real gearbox problem, and Williams were covering it up so as to make Alan Jones feel better about the win he took, but it seems more likely that Reutemann had a genuine off-day.

racer69 · 21 Mar 2003, 06:53 (Ref:542793)

Reuteman i think wanted to retire after Las Vegas in 1981, but when Williams and Head couldn't convince Jones to stay, they talked Reuteman into staying on for 1982, which lasted 2 races.

Reuteman just gave Nelson that position during the early laps at Las Vegas, maybe assuming the Piquet wouldn't last the distance (which he nearly didn't, he had to be lifted from the car, amazing that a dodgy massage can almost cost a World Championship), still, very much an off day. Amazing, sensationally fast on Saturday to score pole, sensationally slow on sunday.

On the gearbox thing, this was the man who drove the entire 1980 San Marino GP with no clutch and finished strongly, i'm not sure i buy that, or that that caused the poor performance.

PaulSands · 1 Apr 2003, 07:31 (Ref:554584)

wasn't there some issue with Carlos' psychic/clairvoyant/spiritual advisor telling him that he wouldn't win the WDC so he effectively accepted it as a done deal?

krt917 · 1 Apr 2003, 11:48 (Ref:554776)

Sounds likely. It was probably the same idiot that told him Piquet wouldn't finish the final round!

paulzinho · 1 Apr 2003, 19:11 (Ref:555183)

Either that or it was Piquets old man in disguise!

Still, seems a little strange to just accept it like that, must've been a convincing psychic.

Charlex · 1 Apr 2003, 20:24 (Ref:555258)

As a fan, I have to defend Reutemann, here in my country nobody recognizes what a brillant driver he was.
The history in my country says that, after the race of Brazil, the relationships between Williams, Jones and Carlos were bad, Jones was the no1 driver, and Reutemann coudn't accepted, so he tried to demonstrated he was the number one. As a result the team make all the things possible to loose the championship. I can't beleive what Head said that the car hadn't any problems. Reutemann is one of the only three drivers of the history that make a pole position in his first F1 race, and in that time he wasn't with the best car, and in front of drivers like Stewart. The theory of weakness goes to the ground...
He was asked after the race why he didn't crash the car to Nelson, while he was getting passed, and he said that he didn't want his doughters remembered him as a tricky person.
Another example of what type of man he is. Compare it with Michael Schumacher...
And finally, This all happened at the end of 1981, he left the english team at the beginning of the 1982, a very bad time for the relationships between argentines and englishs, sadly.

PaulSands · 2 Apr 2003, 05:50 (Ref:555547)

I was always a fan of el Lole myself

racer69 · 2 Apr 2003, 12:30 (Ref:555843)

Quote:

Originally posted by Charlex
after the race of Brazil, the relationships between Williams, Jones and Carlos were bad, Jones was the no1 driver, and Reutemann coudn't accepted, so he tried to demonstrated he was the number one. As a result the team make all the things possible to loose the championship

Can you really blame them though, it was in Carlos' contract that he was Jones' number 2, and he knowingly disobeyed team orders.

PaulSands · 2 Apr 2003, 12:54 (Ref:555881)

However..I absoultely refuse to accept that Frank Williams would ever do anything to deliberately lose...he is far to driven for that, probably more so back then given how it was only a few years earlier he was still running drivers in de Tomaso's and old Heskeths

krt917 · 2 Apr 2003, 14:26 (Ref:555982)

Yes I agree.

I think the point is that whilst Reutemann was a fantastic driver and was capable of amazing drives, he was also temperamental - for whatever reason. That is sometimes the difference between a VERY good driver and a trully great one. Great drivers tend to have very few off days.

Russell Jaslow · 16 Apr 2003, 19:28 (Ref:571477)

Quote:

Originally posted by racer69
Reuteman i think wanted to retire after Las Vegas in 1981, but when Williams and Head couldn't convince Jones to stay, they talked Reuteman into staying on for 1982, which lasted 2 races.

Reuteman just gave Nelson that position during the early laps at Las Vegas, maybe assuming the Piquet wouldn't last the distance (which he nearly didn't, he had to be lifted from the car, amazing that a dodgy massage can almost cost a World Championship), still, very much an off day. Amazing, sensationally fast on Saturday to score pole, sensationally slow on sunday.

Didn't Piquet vomit in his helmet a few laps into the race? I seem to recall that.

racer69 · 17 Apr 2003, 16:11 (Ref:572229)

He did vomit at some point, though i'm not sure whether it was during the race or after he had stopped back in the pits after the completion of the race. He collapsed as well, having to be carried from the car.

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